


The Man With A Plan

by Ipodsandstars



Series: Mistakes and Shattered Hopes [3]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angsty Schmoop, Awesome Phil Coulson, BAMF Phil Coulson, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Phil has a plan, Protective Phil Coulson, SHIELD Agent Darcy Lewis, SHIP DARCY WITH ALL THE THINGS, THERE IS GOING TO BE HELL TO PAAY, Tony Stark Has A Heart, crafty Phil Coulson, first clue to a mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 14:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2072139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ipodsandstars/pseuds/Ipodsandstars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil has a plan on keeping Darcy safe and making Bruce pay, Tony has yet to figure it out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Man With A Plan

**The Man With A Plan  
Summary: Phil has a plan on keeping Darcy safe and making Bruce pay, Tony has yet to figure it out. **

He stands over her, watching her sleep. She’s as beautiful as ever but she is silent – silent and she’s not moving either, which is unusual for her. She should be up and about, laughing and joking with the others while listening to her music which to Tony, her taste in music is a piece of shit. Darcy Lewis should be the energetic, loveable and kickass assistant she should always be, the loud-mouth sassy assistant to the Avengers and she was a god damn good SHIELD agent too.  
Everyone loved Darcy – who wouldn’t? When Thor was mortal, she knocked him right off his ass with a ‘puny weapon’ a.k.a her taser. She loved her music, she loved everything she did and took everything about her crazy ass in her stride... Well, almost everything. She loved everything in her life up until Bruce cheated on her who showed no remorse and it was the life she had with SHIELD and the Avengers that brought her silence, it was technically SHIELD’s fault that she was silent and before the director in the hospital bed thanks to a car crash. Though the crash was an accident, nothing more.

Phil Coulson bent over the hospital bed, watching his favourite agent sleep. The hospital staff said Darcy had been lucky; she’d escaped with only a few bruises and a broken wrist. If the car that had crashed into her had gone any faster, she’d be dead. A drunk driver was what had hit her and she was only on her way back to the tower to collect her stuff to move out, away from the man that had betrayed her.  
Natasha had been the first to forgive Bruce for what he had done, they’d all made mistakes but Natasha had been in Darcy’s footsteps before and ever since she’d never dated again until she met Clint, seeing as her life was too dangerous and her previous partner was just too much of a distraction, she was younger and now Natasha was more focused on important things. She knew Darcy would bounce back so there was no problem there; she just had to restrain herself from beating the crap out of Bruce for hurting her little sister in the first place. Natasha and Sharon were the ones keeping an eye on Bruce and Betty at the moment – Betty seemed to be enjoying the fact that she now had Bruce – it was like she didn’t care about Darcy, even though she had been talking to her when Bruce hadn’t.

Phil already had agents asking to guard Darcy on his behalf, but he’d already chosen one agent he knew that could do the job by herself. Only one woman he knew he could trust and Darcy could trust, who she was best friends with and knew the entire SHIELD system inside and out.  
When Tony walked into the hospital room, Phil was already answering questions Tony might have already had and Phil’s eyes were only focused on Darcy but pulled away slowly to eventually face the billionaire who was leaning against the room’s window which was facing out towards the hospital corridor where nurses were rushing up and down to deal with other patients and other calls.

“What do we do now, Phil?” Tony asks softly “We can’t hide this from Bruce forever, it’s technically his fault.”  
“No, Tony. It’s my fault.” Phil stated “I’m the one that gave the order to bring Betty in to help get rid of General Ross, to get him off Bruce’s tail. I’m the one that brought Betty here. Admittedly Bruce made the situation worse by what he did but it was a drunk driver who hit Darcy, it was an accident nothing more. I’m the one that caused this.”  
“If it wasn't for what Bruce did, Darcy wouldn't be in this mess. She’d be at home, with us.” Tony rested a hand on the older man’s shoulder and gave a small, brief smile “He deserves to know, sooner or later.”

Phil sighed and winced when his response to Tony’s comment was slightly harsher than it should have been.  
“Don’t you think I know that? Darcy needs to rest and the last person she’d want to see is the bastard who broke her heart. But have you ever thought that HYDRA or General Ross could be planning to make things worse?”  
“General Ross is in a mental asylum or a prison, whatever one it is, Phil.”  
“That won’t stop Talbot.” Phil spoke firmly “You know General Ross is ruthless. We have to be on guard.”  
“One person won’t be enough to guard Darcy, Phil. One woman won’t be enough. Do you really think she can?”  
“Oh I KNOW she can.” Phil retorted.  
Phil sighed and slumped into a chair next to Tony and the both of them watched their friend in the bed sleeping peacefully. It was a few moments of silence that they shared before Tony too sat down, looking at the director.  
“What’s the plan, sir?” he asked  
Phil gave a soft smile and ran a hand through what little hair he had on his head. He knew he had to choose his words carefully, Phil already had something on his mind and to get it to work, he had to get Tony in on it but they had to work fast.  
“Clint will want to see Darcy as soon as he comes back from the mission, he’d want to know everything that has happened, how it happened and what he has missed. He’d want to be brought back up to speed. Like I said, only one agent is guarding the room Darcy is in while the entire ground is monitored by some others who will report back to me. Bruce is due to deal with the last remaining parts of the General’s court case and if you could talk to Pepper and let Darcy stay in the spare apartment for a few more weeks – Natasha and Clint would gladly guard the area, you know that. From there, I have yet to figure out what else to do with Bruce, especially regarding Betty and –“  
Tony noticed Phil was hiding something behind a smirk but decided to ignore it as he pulled out a data pad with some of the video feeds on it, passing it to Phil and filling him in on what he'd been doing.  
“I've been watching Bruce and Betty ever since she came here to New York; I wanted Darcy to find out herself so I kept quiet. They don’t know I've been watching them so I can keep hold of them and report back to you. From then on, I don't know what you've got planned…”

Phil’s smirk stayed on his face and he looked at Tony before getting up and walking to Darcy’s bedside table – pulling three objects out from his suit pocket and setting them down. One of the items was a watch; the second was a walkie talkie and the third was blocked from Stark’s view by Phil, as if it were to remain a secret and he turned again.  
“Don't show Clint those video feeds.” Phil said, the smirk momentarily slipping before being plastered on his face again.  
“Why not?” Tony asked curiously but never got an answer.  
They stay in the room for a few hours, discussing the events of what Bruce had done and what Darcy had been up to when said assistant begins to wake up. She’s still hooked up on medicine or morphine or whatever but she’s pretty sure s he can hear two men talking. She tries to move her head but she feels sick and cries out in pain.

Phil calls the nurses in as the two begin to leave and hands Tony another phone, one to keep private conversations between the two on. Tony keeps looking at Phil, confused and the other man just smiles.  
“Phil, what are you planning? Do you have a plan?” Tony asked him.  
“I know you'll figure out my plan soon enough, as you're the only man I know who is right for the job. I know you'll disobey some of my orders, once you've figured out what I actually want you to do and I know you’ll be keeping a close eye on Bruce, just like I asked you to. But the rest is up to you.”

Phil grinned and walked down the corridor to one of the elevators.  
“I don't understand, Phil. What do you want me to do?”  
“I've been giving you clues all along Stark, once you realise them all, you'll know what to do. What the final outcome of your actions are, I can’t say but Darcy as always, has a part to play.”  
“Is this why you brought me here? To play games with me?” Tony replied  
Phil just laughed and walked into the elevator, the plan was only just starting.  
“It starts here; just remember that it starts here in this hospital. I’ve given you clues, now you have to find the things to help you. Keep an eye on Darcy and make sure you start soon, Stark. We have to act quickly for this plan to work. Darcy is not to know of the plan; Darcy is not to get hurt again, okay?”

Tony realised when the elevator doors closed that Phil was a lot smarter than Tony gave him credit for. Tony just had to be the one to put the plan into action.  
Because the plan was to stir up some trouble, putting friendships on the line... and it started with Darcy being in the hospital. It started with Darcy and Clint.

Tony looked around him and realised that time was the first clue. Clint wasn't back for another few days and the data pad was the second… Darcy.  
He had to check Darcy’s room again. What was he missing? There had to be something, Phil was hiding something back in her room and Phil had mentioned keeping an eye on Darcy and to not show Clint… But where did that leave Talbot? If Talbot was tied to Betty... then that meant...

Tony froze in his tracks.  
The security around the hospital, only one guard to Darcy’s room and the fact Phil wanted the clips to be shown to Clint… It was all to do with pain, hurt and vulnerability. It was showcasing how Darcy was right now, how Bruce had affected her. How one split second reaction could change everything.  
Clint was the trigger – he was to turn on Bruce which would divide the entire team and each member would turn themselves away from Bruce, who would push away from Betty, leaving him with an ultimatum - He'd have to choose between his team or his old flame. A harsh punishment for the man that had been so cruel to Darcy. If Talbot really was trying to find Betty and Bruce, then this would lead him right to them and Talbot would take Betty away again...

They say revenge is best served cold and what Phil had planned, was definitely cold...


End file.
